Thousands march in Spain to demand affordable housing

By Elena Rodriguez and Raul Cadenas

MADRID (Reuters) - Thousands protested on Sunday in Madrid to demand more affordable housing amid rising anger from Spaniards who feel they are being priced out of the market.

Under the slogan "Housing is a right, not a business", residents marched in the Spanish capital to demand lower housing rental prices and better living conditions.

Twelve thousand people took to the streets, according to the Spanish government.

"Spaniards cannot live in their own cities. They are forcing us out of the cities. The government has to regulate prices, regulate housing," said nurse Blanca Prieto, 33.

In July, Spain's government announced a crackdown on short-term and seasonal holiday lettings. It plans to investigate listings on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com to verify if they have licences.

Spain is struggling to balance promoting tourism, a key driver of its economy, and addressing citizens' concerns over unaffordably high rents due to gentrification and landlords shifting to more lucrative tourist rentals.

In a separate demonstration in Barcelona on Sunday against the America's Cup yachting race, protesters blamed the international sporting event for pushing up rental prices and bringing more tourists into an overcrowded city.

Residents of the Canary Islands and Malaga have also staged protests this year against the rise in tourist rentals. Seasonal hospitality workers struggle to find accommodation in these tourism hot spots, with many resorting to sleeping in caravans or even their cars.

(Reporting by Elena Rodriguez, Raul Cadenas and Graham Keeley; Writing by Graham Keeley; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)